1. Field
Exemplary embodiments broadly relate to a method and device for managing WiFi roaming, and more particularly, to a method and device for managing WiFi roaming, in which, a station session management function and a traffic control function are separated by a access controller (AC) and a access point (AP) operating in conjunction with each other using a tunneling method according to a Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol, the AP redirects an HTTP request of a mobile station to the AC even when the AC and the AP are not present in the same subnet (in the case of a routed connection), with the source IP address of the HTTP request having been replaced with the IP address of the AC, thereby smoothly supporting a wireless Internet service in a distributed processing method via web authentication at the AC.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wireless fidelity (WiFi) roaming system is a type of wireless local area network (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n standards, and provides a high-speed wireless data service to mobile stations within a specific distance from an access point (AP), which is a wireless access point device.
In a WiFi roaming method using such an AP, the AP is generally responsible for both a station session management function and a traffic control function according to a lightweight access point protocol (LWAPP). However, due to the introduction of a CAPWAP protocol, an AC is made to be responsible for a station session management function while operating in conjunction with an AP using a tunneling method, and thus the load of the AP is reduced, thereby enabling a high-speed wireless data service to be provided to a mobile station.
In an existing method in which an AP is responsible for both a station session management function and a traffic control function, a station and the AP are present in the same subnet, and thus a station is authenticated using a source media access control (MAC) address in response to a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request from the station. In contrast, in an environment in which a routed connection is present between an AC and an AP, when a web authentication method in which an HTTP request is redirected to an AC is used, the source MAC information of the HTTP request is replaced with the MAC information of a recent hop router, and thus a problem arises in that it is difficult to determine a station that has made an HTTP request.